


So it was you, all along, after all

by follow_the_white_rAbbit_777



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Christmas, Christmas Eve, M/M, Mutual Pining, Snow, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:00:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28301256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/follow_the_white_rAbbit_777/pseuds/follow_the_white_rAbbit_777
Summary: Lee Jihoon does not have a soulmate. Not anymore, anyway.That is what he has always believed to be true, and so has the rest of the world - that is, until the day he literally and figuratively stumbles into new transfer Choi Seungcheol in front of his dorm room.It's a meeting that challenges everything he has come to believe, and changes his life forever...
Relationships: Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups/Lee Jihoon | Woozi
Comments: 14
Kudos: 16





	1. 11th of December

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PreciousNonsense](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PreciousNonsense/gifts).



> Hi Luna!!!  
> When I "drew" your name, I was so excited haha. I wanted to make something truly memorable for you.  
> Especially in light of that I have to apologize to you - I did not manage to finish this on time. While I was working on it I had so much fun it grew way beyond what I'd first been planning...  
> I hope you won't be too disappointed. I will continue to update this until it is complete!!!  
> Again, I really am terribly sorry :((( 
> 
> Okay, that is enough of me rambling for now, though. I hope you enjoy what I *have* managed to write, and I hope you have an absolutely amazing Christmas!!!!!
> 
> I made a Spotify Playlist for writing this :) If you wanna you can listen to it while reading. Doesn't really matter in what order, just hit random play ;) It's a nice addition to the general *vibe* of the fic hehe
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7hWuwKNabh9N7VA2H7MQyH?si=LJtUGzx9RfSkUqEM6ZD1fA

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jihoon has an interesting encounter.

This day was turning out to be very different from what Jihoon had imagined. To be fair, he had not really thought about how it was going to go at all, but tripping over a stack of boxes and sending them, and the guy behind them, flying, certainly hadn’t been at the top of his list. Said guy was currently rubbing the back of his head where it had, unfortunately, made contact with the wall.

“Oh… sorry… I didn’t see you there…”

Jihoon was pretty sure that was the lamest apology he had ever given to anyone. He sighed inwardly and crouched down.

“Here. Let me give you a hand with that. And, again, sorry. What’s your name? I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before.”

The guy awkwardly reached up and let Jihoon help him to his feet before grinning down at him.

“Hey, my name is Choi. Choi Seungcheol. Nice to meet you.”

“Um. Er… I’m Lee Jihoon. Nice to meet you, too. Are you moving in?”

Jihoon extracted his hand from Seungcheol’s grip and curled up his fingers over the palm of his hand. It felt… strangely warm. Before he had a chance to think about the implications of it, Seungcheol nodded.

“Yeah, I just transferred here from INU. I’m moving in here.” He gestured to the door next to Jihoon’s.

“So, Incheon, huh?”

“Yup!”

“Nice. I’m from Busan. I guess we’re neighbors then.” Jihoon gestured to the stack of boxes. “Need any help with that? I should probably be working on… something… but honestly I can’t remember what, and this is better than sitting around in my room all day.”

Seungcheol flashed a smile at him that made the warmth beneath his skin borderline painful.

“That would be lovely, Jihoon.”

Jihoon spent the next three hours helping Seungcheol carry boxes into his room and unpacking them. It was honestly amazing just how many of them there seemed to be, and by the time they had finally finished it was beginning to get dark outside. Seungcheol all but collapsed into his new desk chair just as his stomach let out a loud, angry noise, sending Jihoon into a fit of laughter.

“Did you not have lunch?”

Seungcheol looked at him sheepishly.  
“I may or may not have forgotten to pack something… I was originally going to stop by the cafeteria, but the office lady said my meal card isn’t available yet… Something about ‘late transfers and their inability to recognize that these things take TIME, goddammit’.”

Jihoon laughed at the all-too perfect imitation.  
“Don’t let her get under your skin, she’s just grouchy because she has to handle university students all day. Tell you what, I know a great pizza place on campus that doesn’t require you to have a meal card. I could take you there and show you some of the lecture halls.”

The suggestion earned him another grin.

“Sure, thanks!”

After checking to make sure Seungcheol had both his wallet and his newly acquired room key card, Jihoon led him down the hall to the elevator and outside.

“So, as you can see, these are the student dorm room complexes,” he gestured to the buildings behind them. “There’s also some facilities for all the sporty people around here, if that’s what you’re into. I have to warn you though, anyone here who’s major is sports-related has absolute priority there, so if it’s really crowded and you want to use one of the machines in the fitness studio you might have to wait a while.”

“Oh! Um… actually, that applies to me.”

“You’re a sports major?”

Seungcheol shrugged. “Not sports necessarily so much as physical education. I like working with kids.”

Jihoon smiled. “That’s cute. I mean… that’s nice.” He blushed. “I study music. It’s… always been my passion.” He led Seungcheol around a corner and through a park.

“This is where I like to go in the summer. It’s really nice here, not too warm with the shade from the trees, either. It’s a great place to study.”

They rounded a corner into a busy side street, and Jihoon gestured at a small shop.  
“This is the place I was talking about. It’s kind of an insider tip. Not too expensive and it doesn’t get too crowded, either, because they do free on-campus delivery if you order more than two pizzas and… I guess everyone is just lazy? They’re really nice, and the food is delicious.”

Jihoon pushed open the door and a bell rang somewhere. While Seungcheol still seemed to be figuring out where exactly the noise had come from Jihoon pulled him inside and towards the counter. The girl there smiled at him.

“Hey Jihoon, back again? Who’d you bring with you?”

“Hi, this is Seungcheol. He just transferred in from Incheon. I thought I’d show him the best pizza place in all of Seoul.”

She snorted out a laugh. “That’s a very generous thing of you to say. So, anyways, have you guys decided what you’d like yet? You can eat here or just take it back to the dorm.”

Jihoon elbowed Seungcheol to get his attention. “Would you like to eat here or…?”

“Here, my room is still a mess. Plus I don’t really have a table.”

Jihoon shrugged. “You heard him. I’ll take my usual.”

“And I’ll have the… um… pepperoni pizza.”

She nodded. “Alright. We’re not particularly busy, so just pick an empty table to sit at.”

Jihoon tugged Seungcheol towards the back. “Trust me, there’s a great table back here.” He led his newfound friend to a table for two right next to a small window facing a back alley. “As soon as it starts to get dark they turn on the lights.” He explained, gesturing to a string of fairy lights outside. “And you get a little more privacy.”

Seungcheol hummed in agreement before hanging his jacket on one of the chairs and sitting down. Jihoon copied him and slouched down in his seat.  
“So… a music major, huh. Did you ever have to write your own songs?”

Jihoon grinned. “In the beginning, not really… but since it’s always been something I’m interested in I did it, anyway. And by now we have to. I guess for some of the people in my course it’s not really something they enjoy too much but…”, he trailed off and shrugged. “I just love it. Music is like… a language, in its own sense. Except you don’t need to speak it to understand the meaning behind it.” Jihoon rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Please tell me if I… I don’t know, talk about certain topics a little too much. I don’t want to bore you. What exactly made you want to become a teacher?”

Seungcheol shrugged. “I don’t know… as I said, I’ve just always really liked working with kids. And since I liked sports as well I figured, why not teach physical education. I want to work at an elementary school when I finish. I guess… my own school experience wasn’t always the best… I got teased a lot and no one really stepped in. Maybe I want to help kids learn to stand up for themselves and maybe protect themselves, too.”

“That’s really kind of you. I’m sorry you… had an experience like that… I think I got lucky in school. I was never exactly the tallest kid on the playground but I think the other kids just knew they shouldn’t mess with me,” he grinned. This day might not be going the way he had expected it to, but he was still very much liking this outcome. Seungcheol was easy to talk to, and something about him made Jihoon want to lean closer and get to know him better, hopefully even make friends with him.

“Do you have any- “

“Here’s your pizza, enjoy!”

Jihoon smiled at the girl and thanked her before turning back to Seungcheol. “Did you have any older siblings that could have helped you with the bullies?”

“I do, but it never really helped much. I’m the youngest, actually,” Seungcheol shrugged. “I suppose they just grew out of wanting to tease me eventually, or I stopped caring.”

Jihoon watched him take his first bite with anticipation.

“And? Is it as good as I said?”

Seungcheol grinned and all but groaned at the taste. “You weren’t kidding, it really is amazing.”

Jihoon let out a pleased noise before tucking into his own food.

“What about you?”

Jihoon tilted his head to the side. “What do you mean?”

“Siblings. Do you have any?”

He shook his head. “I’m an only child. I guess… maybe I just got lucky in school, all things considered,” he shrugged before turning back to his pizza.

The rest of their meal passed by in something between comfortable quiet and awkward silence until it was time to pay. Jihoon called their waitress over, already reaching for his wallet, when he felt a hand on his arm all of a sudden. He looked up.

“Seungcheol…?”

“Sorry. I just um… Let me pay for you. You really helped me today.”

Jihoon bit his lip before letting out a small smile. “Only if you really want to, though. I know you’re new here and everything, so if you’re short on cash right now, you really. don’t have t-”  
“Jihoon.”  
“Yes?”  
“I want to.”  
The girl grinned at the both of them. “Will that be all for tonight?”

Seungcheol nodded and fiddled with his card until she got the reader out and turned away while he typed in his info.

“Do you… have anywhere to be tonight?”

Jihoon raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Not really, no. Why, have I not scared you off yet?” he grinned.

Seungcheol chuckled. “No, not quite. It’s just that… it feels kind of weird going back to an empty unit…” He took his card back. “I lived with my parents before, and I have a feeling it’ll really start to set in that I’ve moved out all the way once I’m on my own…”

Jihoon resisted the urge to coo at him and opted for a smile instead. “We have the same way back, anyway. It’s normal to feel that way, you know. I felt really awkward after I’d moved out, too. It gets better with time, you know. Just takes some getting used to. But if it helps you, I don’t mind coming over for an hour or two, as long as I’m not keeping you from doing anything important.”

Seungcheol shook his head, relief written all over his face. “No, you really aren’t. Thank you.”  
Jihoon grabbed his coat and they went back outside. He shivered. It definitely hadn’t been this cold when they had left. Seungcheol did not look too happy, either, doing his best to disappear into the depths of his jacket.

“We should hurry. It looks like it might start snowing soon.”

Seungcheol hummed in agreement and Jihoon ushered them both back to the dorms. The way back passed by, once again, in complete silence, and yet it did not feel like an uncomfortable sort of silence, more like the kind of silence forged through mutual understanding and respect. A comfortable silence. By the time they reached the dorms Jihoon was shivering with the cold and Seungcheol’s teeth were chattering. It really hadn’t been a particularly long walk, but the temperature had dropped significantly with the loss of the light, transforming their surroundings into a beautiful yet icy wonderland.

“Cold?” Seungcheol grinned.  
“Just a little. It’s ah… just a LITTLE chilly.” Jihoon shivered back, doing his human best to turn the key in the lock with stiff fingers.

“Here, let me.” A shadow loomed over him and then Seungcheol took the keys out of his hands, unlocking the door.

“Do you… want to come in? Or should we go over to yours?”

“Honestly… I don’t think either one is going to make it feel any less lonely… Might as well stay here.”

Jihoon kicked off his shoes, then showed his guest where to put his away. “Would you like anything to drink?”

“Some tea would be nice.” Seungcheol shivered. Jihoon nodded, and retrieved two bags of green tea from the cabinet while his newfound friend looked around, clearly taking the time to examine his apartment.

“This is… really nice. It feels lived in. I’m kind of jealous... “ Seungcheol tilted his head to the side and pointed at a poster. “Who are they?”

“They’re ‘Diamond Life’. They’re the band that made me want to study music.”

Seungcheol raised an eyebrow and smiled. “I’ll have to check them out, they must be pretty awesome to inspire someone like you to dedicate their life to music.”

Jihoon found himself blushing furiously, unsure what to say. “Someone… like me?”

“Well, you’re obviously really driven, and passionate.”

Jihoon was pretty sure his entire body was bright red at this point, at least it felt like the heat of his blush had crept across every inch of his skin.  
“Thank you… that’s really nice of you to say.” He all but shoved the cup of tea in Seungcheol’s direction to cover up his sudden burst of shyness.

Seungcheol took it with a smile. “By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask since earlier, but can I get your number?”

Jihoon all but heard his jaw hit the floor. Was this…?

“You’re kind of the only person I’ve gotten to know… and you’re really nice.” From the way Seungcheol was suddenly staring at his feet it wouldn’t have surprised Jihoon to see something exceptionally interesting happening down there.

“Oh! Um, of course!” He stuck out his phone for Seunghcheol to take..

“Here, I messaged myself. I’ll text you later, or something. Maybe… I should head back over to my place… It’s getting pretty late.”

Jihoon smiled and did his human best to suppress a yawn. “It’s fine… really…,” he failed.

Seungcheol chuckled. “It’s okay. I think both of us have class tomorrow, and I’m kind of tired, too.”

Jihoon accompanied him to the door. “Well… I’ll… see you soon, I guess!”

“Good night, Jihoon. Sleep well.”

That night, laying in bed, he fell asleep with a big smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, if you are not Luna and you've made it this far, congratulations! This is my first time ever writing for Svt hehe  
> If you're enjoying my story, please consider leaving me some kudos or even a comment, because those give me the warm fuzzies :D


	2. 12th of December

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jihoon takes his newfound friend to the library.

The next day saw Jihoon scrambling out of bed about five minutes prior to class, cursing up a storm and silently wondering how it had been possible for him to sleep through five different sets of alarms. By some sort of miracle, or possibly even divine intervention, he managed to slide into his lecture in time, sending the professor an apologetic smile. Luckily for him, the rest of his day continued without any major hiccups, allowing him to make it to the cafeteria early enough to acquire one of the highly sought-out pizza slices.  
He was in the midst of a pizza-induced stupor when a loud notification from his phone jolted him back to reality.

**Seungcheol**

Hey, what are you doing right now?

Jihoon wrinkled his forehead.

**Jihoon**

Nothing much, y?

**Seungcheol**

I can’t find the library. Where is it?  
On campus, I mean.  
Can u give me directions there?

**Jihoon**

Where r u rn?  
I can help you find it, dw  
Do you need to go there now?

**Seungcheol**  
No, I can wait a bit  
thx  
I went back to my room

**Jihoon**

Let me go finish eating and ill come get u  
*ill  
dammit  
**I’LL  
HA!!!!!!!!!!!!

**Seungcheol**

Take your time  
lol

Jihoon got up with a little sigh and abandoned the sad leftovers of his meal in one of the large trash cans before heading outside. Despite last night’s chill and the very obvious clouds overhead he had yet to see a single snowflake, and he wasn’t sure whether to be disappointed or relieved. Disappointed because, well… snow and Christmastime were a match made in heaven, but on the other hand it WAS terribly bothersome to have to wade through several inches worth of frozen precipitation in the morning.  
When he arrived back at his apartment Seungcheol was already standing in front of it, clearly more than ready to get going.

“Sorry, I hope I didn’t make you wait for too long.”

“It’s fine. I wanted something from you, after all. Have you eaten yet?”

“I was just in the cafeteria actually. Pizza.”

“Again?”

Jihoon huffed. “Listen, Monday is pizza day and it tastes nice, ok?”

Seungcheol all but laughed at him. “Relax, I wasn’t judging you. Um… do you wanna…? I don’t mean to rush you, but I never took off my jacket and I’m kind of dying a slow and painfully hot death right now.”

Now it was Jihoon’s turn to laugh. “You could have just taken it off, y’know. But sure, let’s go. It really is getting pretty warm. “

He resisted the urge to loosen his scarf, knowing full and well he was going to regret it the second he set foot back outside. The way to the library took them down a similar path to the one they had taken last night, and Jihoon stopped every once in a while to point certain buildings out to Seungcheol, in hopes of making it all just a little more memorable. They finally reached the large brick building after a few minutes, by which both of their faces were red with cold. The clouds continued to hang overhead, heavy with unshed snow.

“Did you need something in particular in there?”

Seungcheol shook his head. “Not really. Not yet, anyway. I have to hand in a paper on the effects of physical activity on the overall learning ability of the human brain in about two months though, and I kind of figured I’d get a head start.”

Jihoon nodded. “That’s a good idea. Things can get pretty stressful towards the end of the semester… Do you have your key card with you?”

“Key card?” Seungcheol echoed.

“Yeah. Well, library card, really. If you don’t I can help you apply for one? You’re going to need it for pretty much every course. Plus I’m here already, anyway, and they have great study rooms in here as well. I need to do some work for my composition class. If you want we can just do some work together.”

He received a huge smile in return. “That would be… really nice. Thank you, really. Guess I owe you another meal some time.”

Jihoon snorted and shook his head. “It’s fine, no worries. Just… let’s go inside already. It looks like the weather might shift soon, and I really don’t want to be outside when it does.”

The first thing Jihoon did after entering was take his jacket off and go to the reception to find a vacant locker, all but dragging Seungcheol with him. Then he returned to the librarian, a tired looking woman in her late 60s and explained to her what they were there for.

“A library card? You’re quite late, aren’t you? Most of the students requested theirs in October.”

Seungcheol cringed visibly. “I um… sorry. I just transferred in from the INU.”

The librarian nodded and gave him a tight-lipped smile. “I am going to need some proof of ID and your student number…”

An awkward ten minutes later Jihoon and Seungcheol shuffled off towards one of the group rooms with instructions not to disturb anyone and to keep the volume down.

“I don’t think she likes me.” Seungcheol scowled as soon as the door to the empty room they had found closed.  
Jihoon shrugged. “Maybe she’s having a bad day. She isn’t like that all the time.” He dumped the contents of his bag onto the table rather unceremoniously. “I’ll be working on a track most of the time, so… if you need anything, just tap me on the shoulder or something, ok?”

Seungcheol nodded and dug a notebook out of his backpack. “Will do.”

Jihoon hummed a confirmation and put on his headphones, confident Seunchcheol would do just fine. They worked alongside one another in comfortable silence for a while, until Jihoon started to feel like he was going to die of hyperthermia and decided to take off his hoodie. Seungcheol frowned at his now t-shirt clad fram from across the table.

“Why are you taking that off?”  
“I’m going to die a slow, painful and very sweaty death if I don’t.” Jihoon grumbled.  
Seungcheol shook his head in disbelief. “Meanwhile I’m over here trying to decide if I should put my scarf back on.”  
“I mean… you could.”

Seungcheol grimaced. “Yeah, but then I’d be even colder as soon as I go back outside. Speaking of... “ he glanced out the window, and Jihoon followed his gaze.

“It’s already getting dark, maybe we should head back.”

“You can go ahead. I think I’ll stay a bit longer. Kind of in the zone right now.”

Seungcheol looked… almost disappointed. “Okay… well, anyways… thanks for the help and stuff. Um. I guess I’ll see you around?”

Jihoon nodded absent-mindedly. “Yeah, see you.” He gave him a little wave, but his mind was already back on the music program in front of him by the time Seungcheol had slipped out the door.

The next time Jihoon looked up it was considerably darker outside. The sun had set all the way, and it was hard to see much at all besides the reflection of the library in the glass. Jihoon checked his watch and sighed. It was already 7pm, he was going to have to hurry if he planned on getting a decent dinner. He packed up, logged back out of the computer system and retrieved his jacket from the locker.

Jihoon wrinkled his eyebrows. “Huh... that’s weird.” He shook his jacket, expecting his scarf to come tumbling out of one of the sleeves, but was met with nothing but empty air. “That’s weird… I could have sworn…?”  
“Can I help you with anything, young man?”

Jihoon turned around, only to find himself face to face with the librarian from earlier.

“Not really… Has someone handed in a grey scarf? Or… do you happen to remember if I had one on me when I came in earlier?”

The librarian paused for a second and shook her head. “No, not that I’m aware of. Were you not here with someone else? You had a friend with you earlier. The one that requested the card. Maybe he took it with him by mistake.”

Jihoon shrugged. “Maybe… Either way, thank you for your help. Have a nice evening!”  
He put on his jacket and pushed the collar as high up as it would go. He was going to have to ask Seungcheol about the scarf, later. After he had managed to score himself dinner.

A disappointing 15-minute walk in the dark and a very unfortunate cafeteria incident later Jihoon headed back towards his room, swearing to himself for forgetting to pre-order his dinner of choice. The only option they had had left had been some sort of leafy-looking vegetable, and he was just not in the mood.

As he headed back something very small and cold landed on his cheek. “What in the…?” Jihoon squinted into the darkness and turned on his phone. His mouth dropped open in surprise. It was snowing. He wavered between taking a minute to appreciate the crystalline beauty unfolding all around him and hurrying home, but in the end the promise of a nice bowl of his favorite ramyeon won out over his appreciation for snow.  
It was only when he was opening the door to his room that he realized his scarfless body had not felt cold all evening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so it progresses... hehe  
> If you're enjoying this little Christmas story, please consider leaving me a token of your appreciation in for of some kudos or a comment, those make me really happy!!


	3. 13th of December

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Old memories resurface...

Tuesday morning brought with it the usual grief of waking up after too little sleep. Jihoon sighed and pushed the covers off of himself. Had they always felt this suffocatingly hot?  
When he checked his phone he had a new message from Seungcheol.

**Seungcheol**  
Hey, it’s Cheol.  
I think I might have accidentally taken your scarf last night.  
Lmk when I can bring it over

**Jihoon**  
Mornign…  
*morning  
i just woke up. i have class soon.  
and i need to work on something  
can u drp it off between 2-3pm?

**Seungcheol**  
I have class then :(  
Should I just come over tonight?

**Jihoon**  
Sure! c u

He sighed and tossed his phone to the side.

True to his word Seungcheol was not able to make it over to meet him until sometime in the evening. By the time he knocked, though, Jihoon was preoccupied with a different problem entirely.

He was BURNING. UP.

Jihoon gulped, pushed a handful of sweaty bangs out of his eyes and went over to the door just as another wave of heat hit him. He took a deep breath and opened it.

“Hey…”

Seungcheol gave him a quizzical look. “Hi. Um… I just… wanted to drop off your scarf.” The look turned to concern. “Are you okay?”

Jihoon considered it for a second. Then, he nodded. “Yeah, I think I’m good. Just really warm right now.”

Seungcheol laughed softly. “I mean you told me going to the gym isn't really your thing, but maybe you should be a little more careful when you do go. You look pretty out of it. Don’t overdo it, okay? Anyways… I don’t mean to be rude, but I have an essay to write by tomorrow night. I’ll see you around.”

Jihoon opened his mouth to explain to Seungcheol that he had not, in fact, been working out, but by the time he’d arranged the words the door was already closing in his face.

“What. What in the fresh fuck?” He cursed before propelling himself to the nearest mirror. Seungcheol was right. If he hadn’t known better he would probably have thought he’d been working out, too. His face was a little red and there was a thin sheen of sweat on his skin.

Jihoon breathed a heavy sigh. He did not have time to be getting sick right now. A quick look around his apartment revealed exactly what he must have been subconsciously looking for: A box of lemon, honey and ginger tea.

“Take that, you stupid cold…,” he muttered to himself. He checked the clock. It was 9pm. He had already finished preparing for most of his classes for the next day… He decided to go to bed early.

**_//Eomma, why do I have a spot on my hand?//_ **

**_//That’s your soul mark, it’s to help you find your soulmate.//_ **

**_//What’s a soul… soulmate?//_ **

**_//It’s the person… or the people… who are perfect for you. Your other half.//_ **

**_//But how can it help?//_ **

**_//You can feel your soulmate through it. When they’re near you it turns hot. The warmth in it shows you that they are alive and well.//_ **

**_//How can I find my… my soulmate?//_ **

**_//When the time is right, it will lead you to them….//_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is a little bit on the shorter side, but I'm writing each day as a single chapter instead of combining less eventful days to get larger chapters.   
> (This also allows me to update a little faster hehe)  
> As per usual, if you like what you're reading, please tell me!   
> Or yell at me about it on Twitter if you like, I'm @7he_whiterabbit
> 
> See you!


	4. 14th of December

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jihoon has a realization

Jihoon woke up to the sound of his alarm. As he sat up, blearily rubbing the sleep from his eyes, a fragment of a dream came back to him. 

**_//You can feel your soulmate through it. When they’re near you it turns hot. The warmth in it shows you that they are alive and well.//_ **

He had been seven when his soul mark had turned ice cold to the touch. Seven when he had realized that all the happy stories his mother had always used to tell him, all those beautiful fairy tales, would never come true for him. 

He gulped and looked down at the palm of his left hand. In all the years it had never faded, but the cold radiating from his hand hadn’t left a single doubt that his soulmate was dead. Dead, or worse. 

When Jihoon was a kid he had always dreamed of finding his soulmate and whisking them off to the magnificent castle he would, undoubtedly, live in as an adult. But that day, it had all changed. It took several days for him to work up the courage to ask his mother what the sudden cold meant, and several years for him to accept it. 

Whatever the universe had meant for him, it had failed, somehow. Or so he had thought. Running his fingers over the mark he felt a strange sensation, like pins and needles. 

“It’s impossible.” He muttered to himself. He’d looked it up so many times, and the results had always come back clear as day: His soulmate was dead. And yet he couldn’t deny the first tingles of life flooding back into it. “How… after all this time...?”

He had to be sick, somehow. Maybe his long-suppressed sorrow for having lost a soulmate he had never met had finally turned putrid and was now festering away in the remnants of his mark. Jihoon shuddered and tried to push that thought as far to the back of his mind as he could. He sighed, got up off his bed and grabbed his things. The odd changes in his soul mark could wait, he had classes to be at. 

Three hours later, when he was in the middle of a lecture, his phone screen lit up. Jihoon snuck a glance at the front of the room to make sure the professor wasn’t looking, then he unlocked the screen. It was from Seungcheol.

**Seungcheol**

Hey, it’s me.

Jihoon snorted. 

**Jihoon**

I know. What’s wrong?

**Seungcheol**

Nothing. Just wanted to see how you’re doing.

Oh, and I got my meal card. 

Wanna hang out for lunch?

I don’t have anyone to check out the cafeteria

Jihoon shrugged inwardly. He didn’t have any lunch plans yet… And his own meal card was more than functional. After texting back and forth for a few minutes, making sure to hide his phone out of sight whenever the professor did a sweep of the room, he managed to settle on a lunch-meetup after this lecture. 

By the time lunch finally rolled around Jihoon was sincerely hoping the menu would offer something tasty, preferably not pizza. Not again. Three days in a row was pushing it, even for him. When he arrived at the cafeteria Seungcheol was already there, waiting for him. Jihoon smiled at him and slid into one of the empty seats.

"How was class today?" He took off his jacket.

Seungcheol shrugged. "Nothing too unusual, I guess. So far, so good. Everyone's been really nice to me, what with the late transfer and everything. I was kind of expecting some of the professors to get a little iffy about the work I missed, but they were fine with it as long as I hand it in by the end of the semester."

"Lucky... My music professor, Mrs. Park, always looks ready to skin us all alive if we turn anything in late..."

"I mean I wasn't even here a week ago... what are they going to do, email the professors at INU to complain that their curriculum isn't identical to the one here?"

Jihoon laughed. "Okay, I guess you're right. They can't very well do that. This is... a little off topic, but have you decided on what you want to eat yet? Because I'm starving..."

Seungcheol shook his head. "Not yet. We should probably check out the menu. I downloaded the app this morning, right after getting my meal card. This place is really cool..."

"It's only cool for about as long as it takes for the servers to get _another_ bug... I think they've crashed five-ish times this month?" Jihoon sighed. "But yeah, as long as they work they're super cool."

He pulled out his phone and started scrolling through the menu. "Chicken... Salad... Kimbap... Tteokbokki... huh. What are you having?"

"I mean all of it sounds pretty good. I think I'll go for some tteokbokki though. It's pretty cold outside, what with the snow and everything. Maybe the spice will warm me up a little." Seungcheol rubbed his hands together as if to emphasize his point.

"Really? I was just thinking this morning it's actually warm outside, considering there's snow laying around." Jihoon removed his scarf and stuffed it into one of his coat sleeves.

Seungcheol frowned at him. "You do look a little flushed... last night, too. You _were_ working out, right?"

Jihoon shook his head. "I don't know what's going on to be honest with you... Maybe I'm coming down with something. I've been feeling kinda feverish for the past two days."

Seuncheol gave him a concerned look. "If it doesn't get better maybe you should go see a doctor or something."

"It's fine, really. I don't feel bad, per se, just way too warm. I'll live. But only if we finally get some actual food. I haven't had breakfast yet, okay?"

That was all the convincing Seungcheol needed to get up and follow Jihoon to the counter. When they sat back down again, minutes later, he had a large plate of Kimbap in front of him, and Seunghceol was happily munching away at a mountain of Tteokbokki.

"Are... you sure you're alright, Jihoon? Your face is really red."

Jihoon's eyes widened with surprise and he lifted a hand to his face, as if to check his own temperature. "Huh."

"Let me see." Seungcheol stuck out a hand.

Jihoon opened his mouth to protest, but snapped it shut again with a squeak. The second Seungcheol's hand touched his skin he felt pins and needles tingle down his spine. "Wha...?"

Seungcheol frowned. "Jihoon? Are you alright? What's wrong?"

"Nothing-" Jihoon croaked.

"Are you sure? You're acting weird. And you're burning up. Maybe you really should go see a doctor."

"I'm sure. Um... if you'll excuse me for a second... I'll be right back!" Jihoon jumped up and ran to the restroom, leaving behind a baffled Seungcheol. He pulled the door shut, rushed over to the sink and splashed a handful of cold water into his face.

_Get it together, Jihoon. You are NOT going to lose it right now. It's not real. It can't be real. It's not. It's-_

A voice from behind him interrupted him. "Um... are you okay?"

Jihoon spun around, coming face to face with a round-cheeked guy wearing a tiger print shirt. "Oh... uh... hi Soonyoung? I'm fine, really."

"Okay... well, if you're sure..." Soonyoung shrugged and disappeared into one of the stalls.

Jihoon continued to stare at himself in the mirror. "It's impossible, " he whispered again.

// _When the time is right, it will lead you to them….//_

"No. Impossible."

It took Jihoon another five minutes to compose himself enough to return to the table, only to find that Seungcheol was all but ready to walk out.

"Seungcheol? What's going on? Can I... talk to you for a second?"

"Sorry... I have to leave... I just got an email reminder about a meeting with a professor I'm supposed to be in right about now... I'll see you around!"

"Please hang on a second, I need to talk to you-"

"I really can't. See you!"

Jihoon let out an exasperated sigh as he watched Seungcheol bolt for the door. "Just fucking peachy. Now what?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plot thickens :D  
> I really can't say this enough, but if you're enjoying reading my story, please do tell me! It makes me really happy, and kudos and/or comments are greatly appreciated!


	5. 15th of December

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jihoon and Seungcheol should probably talk.

**Jihoon**

Seungcheol?

Hi?

Hello?????????

**Seungcheol**

Hi?

What's up?

**Jihoon**

Can I please talk to you

It's kinda important

Can you meet me later?

**Seungcheol**

Sorry... I don't really have time today... I need to study, and I have some work to do for an assignment I need to hand in. Maybe tomorrow..?

**Jihoon**

'mkay

Jihoon sighed and typed in the same words for the umpteenth time:

_**"H O W C A N I T E L L I F I ' V E F O U N D M Y S O U L M A T E?"** _

The answer was still the same. He pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger. "But why now of all times? And how even? How in the heck? I just don't understand?"

He absolutely  _ had _ to speak to Seungcheol, as soon as possible.

* * *

As much as Jihoon spent the rest of the day attempting to rationalize his suspicions away, the second Seungcheol came home made it impossible to deny what was going on. His entire body felt like it was on fire, a fire originating in the palm of his hand, drawing him towards Seungcheol's side of the wall between their rooms.

"How is he not feeling that???”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this was a really, really short update, but as I explained earlier I'm following the timeline day by day and some days happen to not be particularly eventful...  
> If you've enjoyed my story up until this point I'd still really appreciate it if you let me know!


	6. 16th of December

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jihoon talks to Seungcheol.

Jihoon woke up feeling like he had a fever. Even though he couldn't exactly say he was getting used to it, at the very least it no longer surprised him. It was still uncomfortable enough to make it clear that he had to talk to Seungcheol as soon as possible, though. It was bad enough to make concentrating on his work for university nearly impossible. Distracting enough that he was able to think of nothing but how exactly he was going to corner Seungcheol to talk to him.

_ It can't continue like this. I can't think properly. And what's more... why isn't he this affected? It just doesn't make sense... _

Jihoon sighed. It really couldn't go on like that. As far as he knew there were no immediate negative consequences to a soul bond not being completed, but the way he was feeling was enough of a warning for him to know if he didn't figure this out soon he wasn't going to appreciate the consequences.

That left exactly one problem: How was he going to talk to Seungcheol?

Luckily for Jihoon the solution more or less presented itself on its own when he was walking home from class and saw the silhouette of someone who looked suspiciously like a certain Phys. Ed. student advancing down the hallway. He sped up.

"Seungcheol, wait! I need to talk to you. It's... important."

Seungcheol turned around, eyebrows raised, and Jihoon stopped dead in his tracks. Had he looked  _ this _ good the last time he had seen him? Or was this just his soul mark acting up?

".... Yes?"

"Sorry... would you like to come inside with me first? I'd um... prefer to not broadcast this to the entire building complex."

Seungcheol shrugged. "Sure. I don't have  _ too _ much time though, deadlines, y'know."

"Oh! Uh, sure, sure. It won't take too long." Jihoon beamed at him and unlocked his door. "Would you like anything to eat? A sandwich maybe?"

"Sure. Don't feel pressured to make anything, though."

"It's fine." Jihoon threw four slices of bread into the toaster and sat back down.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

Jihoon took a deep breath. "Well, I..." He gulped.

"Yes...?"

"I... think I really like you. I know, I know, I've only known you for a few days and everything, but my soul mark goes crazy whenever I'm close to you, and I can't focus... I just... I think you might be my soulmate, and I have to know if you feel the same way."

"What?"

Jihoon's smile faltered, and his heart felt ready to jump out of his chest. "I think... you might be my soulmate. I looked it up and everything, I looked it up so many times and it's just not going away and I-"

"Jihoon."

"Yes?"

"That's impossible."

"You... don't feel the same way?"

"Look, you're a great guy, and you're really sweet, and I'm sure the person you're bound to is the luckiest bastard alive, but it isn't me."

"But I-"

"It's not me, Jihoon. I don't have a mark. I've never had one. I could never give you what you're looking for."

Silence.

Nothing but silence. There was so much Jihoon wanted to say, but none of it found its way past his lips. Instead, he rolled up his sleeve, took Seungcheol's hand and pressed it against his burning skin.

"It has to be you. Can't you tell this is-"

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? Maybe I should leave. I'm really sorry Jihoon, but whatever you think you're feeling... it isn't real. Not for me. Maybe it's someone else in the building. Whoever they are... they're really fucking lucky, okay? But it's impossible, it can't be me."

Jihoon watched Seungcheol get up hastily and grab his coat, frozen with shock. Unshed tears pricked at his eyelids by the time Seungcheol closed the door behind himself, taking with him the only real hope Jihoon had ever had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... the big reveal :D  
> (or was it lmao)  
> stay tuned to find out!   
> If you enjoyed the update, please consider letting me know because it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside :D


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